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US Soldier Accused of Trying to Trade Abrams Tank Secrets for Russian Citizenship
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
A 22-year-old US Army soldier stationed at Fort Bliss has been arrested for attempting to pass sensitive military information to Russian intelligence in exchange for citizenship, according to a Justice Department announcement on August 6.
Taylor Adam Lee is accused of collecting classified materials and stealing equipment from US military vehicles, including the M1A2 Abrams tank.
The FBI and Army counterintelligence allege Lee attempted to deliver the information to someone he believed was a Russian intelligence officer.
“The FBI investigation revealed that Taylor Lee allegedly sought to provide secret military information about vulnerabilities in American tanks to someone he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer, in exchange for Russian citizenship,” said Roman Rozhavsky, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
According to investigators, Lee first sent restricted-access technical data about the M1A2 Abrams tank to this contact in June 2025, offering his help to the Russian government.
He allegedly wrote, “The US is unhappy with my efforts to expose their weaknesses,” and added, “At this point, I would even voluntarily aid the Russian Federation in any way once I’m there.”
In July, during an in-person meeting with the undercover agent posing as a Russian official, Lee reportedly handed over an SD card containing documentation on the Abrams tank, another armored combat vehicle, and information on US Army combat operations.
Several of the transferred files contained restricted technical data that Lee was not authorized to access. Others were labeled as controlled unclassified information. Throughout the meeting, Lee allegedly emphasized that the materials were confidential and likely classified.
After that meeting, Lee continued to discuss handing over physical equipment from M1A2 Abrams tanks. On July 31, he allegedly delivered the stolen gear to a storage unit in El Paso, Texas. He later messaged the presumed Russian contact with the words: “Mission accomplished.”
Earlier, an open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigation uncovered the internal structure and geographic footprint of one of the Russian Federal Security Service’s most secretive units—Center 16—responsible for electronic surveillance and cyber espionage.
The findings were made possible by analyzing images of commemorative and service badges shared online by FSB personnel and collectors.
